Snakes Over Wolves Chapter 06
I figured Cameron would finally take the hint after that, but no. He spent the next few days camping out right by our front door.
Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I went out to confront him.
He’d lost a crazy amount of weight. He was dead pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and his clothes were just hanging off his gaunt frame.
The second he saw me, he frantically yanked his collar aside to show me the back of his neck — revealing the spot where his mating mark had just been removed.
Looking desperate for some kind of validation, he flashed a frantic smile and pleaded, “Nessa, I had surgery to take the mating mark off. It’s gone, so we can be together again.”
Removing a mating mark was incredibly dangerous. It was usually fatal, which was why almost no shifter ever actually tried it.
The mark rooted itself deep into the flesh, meaning an entire chunk of skin and muscle had to be carved out just to remove it completely.
I frowned, staring at the raw, bloody mess on his neck.
I was genuinely shocked he’d actually gone through with a procedure like that, but honestly, shock was the only thing I felt.
When I didn’t say anything, Cameron mistook my silence for sympathy. He immediately reached into his coat and pulled out two furry objects.
With a sudden, sick jolt, I realized what they were. They were his and Anika’s severed tails.
Cameron looked miserable. “I’m so sorry, Nessa. I was awful, and I finally get how much pain I caused you. I cut off my own tail — and hers, too — as an apology.
“Please forgive me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
I felt absolutely nothing. Chopping off their tails wasn’t going to bring mine back.
Those tails were eight lives — the absolute most precious things a nine-tailed werefox could possess.
I kept my face perfectly blank. “Cameron, if you really want to make things right, leave me alone. We’re done. Nathaniel and I are mates now, and we’re happy together.”
“No. You’re lying, aren’t you? How could you mate with someone else?”
He hurried over to his car and pulled out a huge bouquet of roses.
“Look, Nessa. I brought your favorites.”
Before he could take another step, Nathaniel kicked the roses right out of his hands, glaring at him with pure hostility.
Cameron scowled. “What the hell? Why did you kick her flowers?”
Nathaniel let out a cold scoff. “You claim to care about Nessa, but you don’t even know she’s allergic to pollen. Your affection is worthless.”
All the color drained from Cameron’s face. He looked completely lost. “I’m sorry, Nessa. I didn’t know. I just thought…”
He thought I liked roses, but it was Anika who had always wanted them.
And she didn’t even care about the flowers themselves; she just wanted to trigger my allergies.
Whenever Anika faked being generous and offered me the roses Cameron had given her, I would tell them I was allergic.
But Cameron and my parents never believed me. They just assumed I was making it up to be petty with Anika.
Because of them, I constantly ended up in the hospital with severe allergic reactions.
I stared at Cameron’s devastated face, feeling entirely detached. “Why do you think a simple apology makes up for years of treating me like garbage? Stop lying to yourself, Cameron.”
Cameron stumbled back a step, barely keeping his balance.
I took Nathaniel’s arm and turned to leave, but Cameron suddenly sprinted toward us.
Nathaniel instinctively stepped in front of me, but Cameron blew right past. He made a beeline for a street fruit stand, slapped a black credit card onto the counter, grabbed a handful of mangoes, and started shoving them into his mouth.
I stiffened, remembering what had just crossed my mind.